A recent uncovering by Siliconera has revealed yet another crazy idea by Nintendo, this time in the light department. A patent filed back in 2009 in Japan shows a device called Wii Light, which reacts to how a gamer plays a video game and produces a spectrum of colours via red, blue, and green LEDs. The accessory can output 256 colours by controlling which LEDs are turned on and by saturation adjustment.

Light from the LEDS pass through condensing lenses which enable the colours from each LED to be blended together, giving a single coloured beam effect. The device can also output different intensities and patterns like blinking. The peripheral's raison d'être is to reflect the mood of what's happening in-game and the patent suggests developers could use the device to output different colours according to when bullets hit their mark in shooting games, or when fists make contact in fighting games.

Another proposal is to use the Wii Light in music games such as Activision's Hero franchise. Colours can be changed to match what the player is doing on their instrument controller.

As this is just a patent, it doesn't necessarily mean it will come to market, but if it did, do you think it will add something beneficial to your video gaming experience?

Just imagine this thing with any of the Art Style (especially light trax) or BIT.TRIP games. It could be relatively simple and cheap yet still add to the gaming experience in a way that no one else has tried (as far as I know). I would totally buy this.

Also, I'm just a huge fan of using LEDs to make crazy lighting contraptions anyway. Maybe I should just build my own.

3D is out of the question for their next system, so that aside....I'd love to see some type of smellovision innovation, where i can smell the fresh green grass in Super Mario Bros, the wind blowing through my face when soaring through the sky, or better yet bowsers smelly butt.

There are TVs that do this automatically in a subtle way. I think it could pretty cool in some applications. Helps envelop the player in the game. Not that loony. Probably the idea was to put this on the infrared light bar so it has a dual purpose.

It could be a cool secret finder in a Zelda game, where it would change color as you got near something underground in a gradual way. A bit like the old rumble pak and Ocarina.

I had completely forgotten about the vitality sensor until I read this. I'm beginning to think that they thought it through a little more and that we probably won't be sensing our vitals, at least not as a peripheral for Wii. E3 will tell.

I came up with this. Years ago. On April 1st at about midnight.I wrote an "April Fools" news article about this being one of the big, as yet unannounced features of the Nintendo "Revolution" for a small fan site where I was a staff member. It was about this "ambient lighting" that the console would fill the surrounding walls with colors and such to reflect or compliment what was on screen, and referencing Miyamoto's quote about wishing games could extend beyond the borders of a television and filling a room. I also added additional lights to the controller itself in my concept. It was the best April Fools article ever, and others agree.

It makes me feel a bit tingly that Nintendo is patenting this now. Such patents rarely amount to anything that's actually produced, but that's beside the point.

That could be really cool. You can imagine that the way you view the game would be at the least subtly influenced by the new light show. And it could be put to ingenious uses. I'm seeing Farfetched dancing up there and imagining the lights blinking when you encounter a Pokemon. Perhaps in different ways based on the type of Pokemon. Or like... the lights blinking faster as you near an item with your Item Finder! Yeah I know its a handheld game but imagine.